Facts

Massachusetts Recycling Laws

Every state and every country has their own recycling procedures and laws. Many students who go to school at BU, in Boston or in Massachusetts area are not necessarily aware of the states laws. All of this information is taken from the MASS DEP website. Bottle Recycling Massachusetts issued a Bottle Bill in 1982 that imposes a 5 cent redemption on cans and bottles of soda and beer. There are numerous redemption centers around Massachusetts- for a list of redemption centers in Boston, check out our Green Tips page.
  • Governor Patrick has recently proposed an updated Bottle Bill for 2010. The updated version will include 5 cent redemptions for water, juice, energy drink, and sport drink bottles.
Paper
  • Newspaper (with inserts)
  • Magazines/ Catalogues
  • Junk mail (remove free samples)
  • White & colored paper/brown bags
  • Telephone books/paperback books
  • Flattened binboard (e.g. cereal boxes)
  • Milk cartons - Flattened corrugated cardboard (3' x 3' or less, place under or next to Blue Bin)
  • No soiled paper or cardboard
  • Please do not put paper in plastic bags
  • No pizza boxes.
Containers Rinse and place inside blue bin.
  • Glass bottles/ jars. Labels may stay
  • No broken glass or light bulbs, dishes, glasses, Pyrex, window or auto glass.
  • Tin & aluminum food and soda cans, aluminum foil, pie plates, jar lids-Remove lids. Labels may stay.
  • All plastic containers - Caps & lid may stay.
  • Juice & soy milk boxes
  • No motor oil or chemical containers
  • No plastic bags

* City of Boston.gov

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BU, Boston and U.S. Statistics

Coming Soon....

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Plastic, Metal and Glass, oh my!

plastic | metal | glass

Most people are confused about the different types of plastic, metal, and glass and which can be recycled. What do those little numbers at the bottoms of plastic bottles mean? What's the difference between aluminum and tin? Is all glass the same? We're hear to answer those questions, and get things straight!

PLASTIC

The first thing you should know about plastic, is that it lasts forever. Well, maybe not forever, but it does not biodegrade. Instead, it "photodegrades" and turns into dust. That dust ends up travelling throughout the soil, air and water, contaminating everything around us.**

  • Producing a 16 oz. plastic bottle generates toxic emissions 100 times more than making a 16 oz glass bottle.
  • did you know that Americans (yes, Americans alone) use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, and 28 billion plastic bottles every year.
  • In 2006, it took 17 million barrels of oil to produce plastic bottles
  • But only about 13 percent of water bottles get recycled.
  • You should recycle plastic because it takes 2/3 less energy to produce plastic from recycled material than from new material.
  • Recycled plastic can be used in jackets, carpets and other household items.
  • Some places do not accept bottle caps/lids. However in Boston, you can leave the cap on.
Now what do those numbers at the bottom of plastic bottles mean?
These numbers were created by the Plastic Bottle Institute of the Society of the Plastics Industry.

 

Type: #1 PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)
Common Products: Soda bottles, water bottles, oven-ready meal trays, cooking oil bottles, polyester fibers.
Recyclable: Yes, Type #1 plastic is very easy to recycle. It also has redemption value under the California Bottle Bill
Note: Avoid reusing #1 bottles. They are meant for single time use, and absorb bacteria that cannot be thoroughly cleaned.

Type: #2 HDPE (High-density polyethylene)
Common Products: Milk bottles, detergent bottles, grocery/trash/retail bags, recycling bins and playground material.
Recyclable: Yes, very easy to recycle

Type: #3 PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)
Common Products: Plastic food wrap, loose-leaf binders, plastic pipes and fencing.
Recyclable: Yes/No. Most of Type #3 is not accepted for curbside recycling. However some specific places do take #3.
Note: Many Type #3 plastics leech out "bisphenol A", as well as "phthalates" that interfere with hormonal development. When manufacturing plastic #3, dioxin is released, which is a known carcinogen.

Type: #4 LDPE (Low-density polyethylene)
Common Products: Dry cleaning bags, produce bags, laboratory equipment and dispenser bottles
Recyclable: Yes, however some specific places may not permit #4. (Boston accepts #4)

Type: #5 PP (Polypropylene)
Common Products: Medicine bottles, aerosol caps, auto parts, drinking straws and food containers/tubs (i.e. butter container)
Recyclable: No. Most recycling centers will not take #5 plastics. Please refrain from throwing #5 food containers in the recycling. If they have food in them, they can contaminate the rest of the recyclables.

Type: #6 PS (Polystyrene)
Common Products: Compact disc jackets, packaging Styrofoam peanuts, dining trays, plastic cutlery and toys.
Recyclable: Type #6 Plastics are very hard to recycle. Styrofoam can not be recycled. Instead, most shipping and packaging stores will reuse Styrofoam packaging peanuts.
Note: Styrofoam can leech styrene, a possible carcinogen, into food. In general, avoid using styrofoam all together.

Type: #7 Other
Common Products: Reusable water bottles, Tupperware, certain kinds of food containers.
Recyclable: No. Type #7 Plastics can not be recycled.
Note: Many Type #7 bottles leech out "bisphenol A".

PLA Plastic

Common Products: Containers made from renewable resources (plant-based products) such as the compostable cups at Espresso Royale and the GSU Food Court.
Recyclable: No, however they are compostable, if put into a municipal composter.

*http://www.recyclenow.org/r_plastics.html
**http://www.thegreenguide.com/buying-guide/plastic-containers

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Bisphenol A (BPA): The facts

Bisephenol A (BPA) is found in many #7 bottles, which include baby bottles, eating utensils, plastic coatings etc. Studies have found that BPA interferes with hormones, and raised the levels of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer cells. BPA has also been found to raise the risks of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and ADD.**

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METAL

Do you know what types of metal you can recycle?

Most places recycle:

  • Aluminum: Soda cans, appliances, auto parts, windows
  • Steel: Tin cans, appliances
  • Ferrous Metals: (Any metal containing iron) These can range from cars to paper clips.

Did you know...

  • Aluminum is the most abundant metal
  • On average 500,000 cans are recycled every 5 minutes
  • Aluminum can be recycled and recreated in 60 days
  • If aluminum foil is clean, it can be recycled
  • Recycling metal prevents the need to mine new metals and additionally saves coal and energy.
  • Steel does not need to be separated; it can be all melted at once.
  • If everyone recycled one steel aerosol can, there would be enough steel to make 400,000 cars.
  • Steel takes about 100 years to decompose
  • A typical appliance is about 75% recycled steel

*earth911.com

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GLASS

Glass is one of the easiest materials to recycle, and one that be recycled over and over again. However note that certain types of glass cannot be recycled together, i.e. lightbulbs need special recycling.

  • Glass can be recycled in as little as 30 days, and be back on the store shelf.
  • Glass can be recycled over and over and never lose it's quality
  • Glass production is a $5.5 billion industry, with over 50 glass manufacturers in the U.S. alone
  • Recycling glass bottles uses 40% less energy than creating new glass bottles
  • Making new glass creates huge fossil fuel emissions.

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Paper

Recycling paper is very important, especially at a university where notebooks, tests, homework, print outs, and fliers almost certainly end in the garbage.

  • You can recycle: newspaper, junkmail, magazines, phonebooks, cardboard, envelopes, computer paper, C- papers, C- tests - even A + tests!
  • Recycled paper can be made into: egg cartons, paper towels, tissue, toilet paper, notebooks, phonebooks, paper bags, stamps, and more
  • Recycling paper reduces greenhouse gas, fossil fuel and sulfur dioxide emissions
  • Recycling paper saves about 15% of landfill space.
  • In 2007, the average amount of paper recycled per person was 360 lbs.
  • For more information about recycling paper at work, school or in your community, visit paperrecycle.org

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